The Lone Design Man

Hello paper crafters! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Matt Anderson. I am a husband, father of three great kids (two boys, one baby girl) and the senior graphic designer for Paper Crafts magazine.

Working for a publication such as Paper Crafts is a lot of fun. I do the internal design of the magazine, create ads, design covers for some of our special issues and occasionally do photo shoots of our material. Oh, and I also design the monthly banner on Cath’s Moxie Fab World blog. May’s banner is pretty cool, “woodn’t” you agree?

Being the only guy on an all-female team is easier than you think. Yes, I’m your average, every day, run-of-the-mill kind of guy. I’m a huge football fan (usually watched in holey sweats), I love super cool action movies (with an overabundance of explosions and special effects), video games, playing in the dirt, bugs and comic books (yeah, my boys love me).

I now know what it feels like for some of you women working in all-male environments. It’s strange, alien and like a whole different world at times. Even though it’s a challenge, it’s also very entertaining. I think it’s one of the most entertaining jobs I’ve ever had. I’ve had to chuckle at some of the conversations that happen in my area of the office. Some of the topics have included:

What shirt someone has bought on sale at the “Rack” (whatever that means) that matches the shoes they bought at Macy’s.

Details on what Matthew McConaughey’s abs look like in his new movie.

What kind of new moisture rich lotion works best with the transitioning conditions between winter and spring.

Seriously though, after the age of 10, I was pretty much raised by a single mom. And she’s one of the strongest women I have ever met. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

I guess you could say my life changed a lot in September of 2008. That’s when I started working with seven crazy and wonderful women. And to work with these talented ladies is a real pleasure.

In the words of Truman Burbank,
“Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!”

P.S. Kelly’s always giving away free stuff, so now I want a turn! I’d love to hear your feedback on these six openers I designed for the magazine.

Let me know which opener you like the best! One random winner will receive a collection of magazines that these openers appear in – March/April, May/June and our upcoming July/August. All comments must be received by midnight on Friday, May 8! The winner will be announced on Monday’s blog.

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167 comments

OMGosh, they are alllll Fabulous! I just barely like the Bride Cover more than the others. I love the colors and the sleek lines. The dark color added at the top and bottom really makes the whole pages POP! Father Knows Best is awesome too. What am I saying??? They are all just perfect!

They’re all awesome but I love the vintage and butterflies openers… you are very talented and I think it is easier sometimes for guys to be in an all girl office than the other way around… hey, at least you have fun, right?!

Matt I love your openers. They are eye catching but not too busy or distracting!! I love the bright colors. It is really refreshing when you meet a guy in the paper crafting world!! Thank you for blogging.

Well, hi Matt! Nice to hear from you and get to know more about you!! I love the headers, but my two favorites would be the bride (the silhouette is lovely), and then the Father Knows Best. Your Moxie Fab wood header is fantastic!

Welcome Matt! I’ve always loved the Moxie Fab headers and the fact that they change monthly! Great job! My favorite page is the Father Knows best with a close second with the Fluttering Butterflies. Love Butterflies! Keep up the great work and keep sane!

All your designs are clean, but they each have something special to them. The Motherhood silhouettes are sweet. The vintage one is the busiest, but it still keeps the focus on the article. My fave is the bride…. I can’t resist flourishes.

Hmmm… I’m torn between the Father Knows Best and Fluttering Butterflies… I guess my fave would have to be Fluttering Butterflies since it makes me think of warm weather and spring, something that seems to be eluding us right now… lol.

Vintage and Father Knows Best were my favs. You do some awesome work! I love the amazing graphics in the mag and often stare at them for inspiration and composition just as much as the projects themselves. Thanks for the hard work that you and everyone else at Paper Crafts Mag do. It’s a first rate pub. Have an awesome week!

The butterflies are my favorite. Years ago my husband was the only male classroom teacher in an elementary school (except one of the coaches). Frankly, he was spoiled by all the women. Now there are more men and they’re a minority, but not enough to continue to get the star treatment.

It’s so great to meet you! I love the fact that we have a male perspective on crafting too. I went to a scrapbook store last weekend and there were guys in there buying supplies. I was like, Rock on!!!!

I love your header you designed for Cath’s Moxie Fab World. That tree is awesome.

My favorite mag design would have to be the butterfly layout. I’m on a huge nature craze right now (my living room is in birds and butterflies) so that one would be my pick!

I haven’t really explored the “digital” scrapbooking/crafts world yet, but I am really loving it. I took some advertising classes in college and I currently produce our company’s quarterly newsletter, as well as love playing around with my blog header and such. I am really fascinated by your work!

I like the bride opener, but I think those beautiful betterflies are my absolute favorite! Great job, lone man! =) And my dad feels your pain–he’s the only guy in our house. A wife, 5 daughters, and a female dog, bird and hamster! =D

Oooo…Do I have to pick just one?! I love the graphic style in each of them–so retro, yet current. I love the colors in “Vintage”. But my favorite are the silhouettes in “Motherhood”–They just ‘speak to me’. Thanks, Matt, for always doing a WONDERFUL job for our favorite magazine, and for the occasional guy’s point of view!

At this size, the most eye-catching opener is the butterfly one. I also like the bride, clean and swirly at the same time. The father one looks good but not my style. I like the circles in the motherhood one. And I bet the vintage one would look great at a bigger size (now it’s kind of hard to make out).

Great blog today! Love to get different perspectives! I like the vintage the best, although butterflies if the next best. By the way, what football team do you cheer for? I’v been a NE Patriots fan all my life!

I really have to say that I love the VINTAGE because it captures our life right now. Memories Fading and new ones beginning. I love the colors and the mood it sets. Thank you so much for being such a real kind of guy with a great perspective on co workers and life.

All five of the designs are eye catching! I like the motherhood the best. I like the circle designs and the modern background.
Hope to hear from you more on the blog….and do you have layouts you have created to share?

i love the butterflies one…that was the first one to catch my eye. 🙂 I was just wondering the other day who designed Moxie Fab World’s headers…i ESPECIALLY love the one now. Very very cute. Good luck working with all those women!! 🙂

Wow, what a fun post! It’s so nice to meet you :). All the openers are great! I tried to decide which my favorite was. In the beginning I thought the Fluttering Butterflies was my favorite because his happiness and fun colors. Then I thought the Value of Vintage is so unique. Later I thought the Here Comes the Bride was so great too. BUT now my favorite is surely the 5 Cards 5 Occasions 5 Dollars! I love its style and colors! I would love to use it as inspiration for a scrapbook page – it really inspires me!
Thank you for this lovely post, thank you for the inspiration and thank you for the chance to win such a fabulous prize!
Efrat K.

I love the fluttering butterflies. Butterflies are still so big right now and I love the happy colors. The whole page just draws me in and the position of the butterflies really moves the viewers eye around the page.

Nice to “meet” you, Matt. My fave is the butterflies – I just like the colors, and the rays of sunshine are so bright and cheery. My 2nd fave is the motherhood one – I can totally see using that design for a scrapook page! 😉
Thanks for posting – love to see you work!

Aaaha,… j ust wondered who makes this fantastic blog headers and there you are 🙂

Right now, I am in the mood for the fluttering butterflies opener. However, I like the one of the July/ August issue best! Those layouts kind of reflect what (I feel) is going on right now in the times of this financial crisis… like people turning towards the “good old times” on the one side and having a reduced, versatile style that could be changed easily with cheery accessoires on the other hand. Thanks for the sneak peek!

My two favorite openers would have to be Fluttering Butterflies and 5 Cards, 5 Occasions, 5 Dollars. If I had to choose just one it would be 5 Cards, 5 Occasions, 5 Dollars. I love the simple design. Thanks for the chance to win.

I like the bride cover the best, my four year old son likes the 5 with the fish on it the best. He is an animal lover after all. Great work overall. I know what you mean about lone men in an all female office, we actually have two men in our 12 person office, and they are always bemused by what we talk about. Hah!

I know I am not eligible to be entered in the contest.
I just wanted to say that I am so proud of you and have know you were talented since the age of two when you drew your first face, and printed your name at age 3 better then I could. Keep up the great work and I love all the covers. Also thank you for the Mother’s Day wish. I love you too! Mom

Aside from them all being fabulous, I really like the May/June mom through the ages layout. I’m becoming a huge fan of the silhouette, and loved the way you used that to show the various stages of mother and daughter. So sweet. Keep up the fantastic work!

[…] to Freebie Friday! First of all, I want to give a big shout out to those who responded to Matt’s Lone Design Man post yesterday. I know he was truly surprised and humbled by all of your comments. Who knew this […]

Here Comes the Bride is my fav.
i love the way you incorporate so much and end up with a clean simple layout.
very clever including ‘something blue’.
they are all attractive and i look forward to seeing those magazines.
very good topics.
do you get away with those ‘Rack’ jokes at work?!
anyway, i imagine there must be some drawback working with those lovely, talented, creative women!
….and just what does that photographer have you looking at?
i love the pics published of the PC team.

Hey Matt – great designs all, I think my favorite might be Father Knows Best – btw you have to catch the new Wolverine movie, talk about action and special effects WOW! And I hear that new Star Trek film is even better. Looking forward to more posts from you, Ciao, Marta

I love love love the “Value of Vintage” totally amazing!!! Ok, so now I just wanna stay home and sb the day away!!! Sooooo much inspiration, so early in the morning….lol! Wow, thats all I have to say!!!

I hate to be like everyone else, but I have to say the Butterflies cover is the one that stands out the most to me. There is something very simple & sweet about it… I like the light splash of color against the nearly white background of the butterflies.
And, I have to comment that you must be one very enviable man… you are learning all “our” best kept secrets by being around all those talented women every day. 😉
Keep up the great work.

I LOVE the Butterflies!!!! And, I LOVE that there’s a man working out there in a “woman’s atmosphere”. I would absolutely love nothing more than to have my husband be interested in being crafty & making things with me. Even giving me advise and suggestions would be welcome! You’re wife’s a lucky duck!

BWAHAHA….Those overheard comments are so funny when taken in YOUR context! I can only imagine some of the other things you’ve overheard! You are a brave, brave man to venture into the world of all-femaledom!

My fave opener is the 5 Dollars page. I’m a bargain hunter, so that one caught my eye first!

Butterflies are so appealing to me right now. I love that one. I am, though, fascinated by the $5 crafts, occasions, dollars. I want to READ that one! Love every one of Moxie Fab’s headers. Now I will think of you every time I see a new one!

Such wonderful talent!! Men who work in predominantly female fields are such treasures! I have had the privilege to work with several in the counseling and education fields. Love your work and in particular I prefer the March April openers. The colors appeal to me more than the other openers, but all are quite amazing!

WOW, these are all SUPAH fabulous! I feel that you have touched on about style that anyone would have. From vintage to retro, they are severely AWESOME!!

IF I do really have to CHOOSE ONE to be entered to win the fabulous MAG collection, I have to say that I think the EMMY goes to: MOTHERHOOD.

I think it is attractive-eye-candy and speaks to any woman from pregnant to a grandma; AND even if a gal actually hasn’t bore children or even adopted, they probably feel like a mother to students, nephews/nieces, neighbors’ kids or their friends’ children.

Beautiful work on ALL of them, I am impressed!! Thanks for the chance to win and Blessings on your weekend! Nicole Anderson

Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for the awesome comments. I really appreciate it so much, and it’s nice to hear what everyone thinks. To answer a few of your questions: 1) I am a member of the Raider Nation! I’ve like the Oakland Raiders
since I was a kid. (I just wish they’d get rid of Al Davis so they could actually start winning some games). I also am a HUGE Notre Dame (Fighting Irish) fan. Yeah… I pretty much bleed blue and gold. GO IRISH!!

2) I’m totally excited to see the Wolverine movie and for Star Trek (even though I am a Star Wars fanatic)! Also on my movie list is GI Joe, Transformers II, Terminator : Salvation, and Harry Potter! Yeah… I’m a HUGE geek!!!

If you wanna see any of my layout in the future go pick up a Mag. They’re all over in it. You can’t tell I have any fun designing them or anything, huh?
Anyways… Hope you all have a great weekend and keep those comments coming!

I know what it’s like to be the lone design man to grace the pages of PaperCrafts (Check out my card in the current special issue, 225 Cards & Gifts). It is nice to know that I there is another dude that I can do some male bonding with. Up for a crafternoon? We can send our wives off to the “Rack” with the kids.

I am a major fan of the 5 Cards, 5 Occasions, 5 Dollars opener! Anytime you can incorporate a real item such as a receipt into a spread and make the content flow seamlessly into is awesome!

I really enjoyed the Motherhood through the Years. It has amazing colors, and with the outline of the figures. Matt you are really good at graphic design. I have been looking into doing the graphic design. Thanks for the examples from a great designer.

i love the bride opener.
if you like the Truman movie, have you been to Seaside, FL where it was filmed? we stay about 2miles from there every time we go to FL, and we always go in Modica Market, (where Truman worked), they have the best desserts, and the best fresh squeezed lemonade!

I too love the butterflies and brides article! I love the color but also the overall look! OH……and I think you should do more articles….it was really refreshing hearing a MAN’S point of view! Keep ’em coming!

I’m getting into card making so the 555 is my favorite opener. Just wanted to share my minority story as well. I sell valves for a living and have done so for 29 years. I’m the only female in my division in the whole country. So I can identify how it is in the other genders world. I discuss sports, cars, and wives with all my guys. Very interesting. Continued success!

I think my favorite would be Motherhood Through the Edges. I really like the color combination, and I like the way the circles with the silhouettes are repeated in the background design. And I like the way the silhouette circles start smaller and grow larger as they curve around the side of the magazine. I think it is terrific to have a male voice on the magazine. I hope you will be posting here again!

Oh definitely the motherhood one, it stands out from the rest (although the rest are terrific too) But this one really has oomph:) The silhouette images are great and to place them in white instead of black really says it all about a newborn and then to have it progressing down with the circles – just brilliant. It really is a very different but compelling picture:) tfs